Lafayette man sentenced for child exploitation

Anthony Bryant, 43, of Lafayette was sentenced Monday to a year in prison and three years of probation after admitting last month that he sought out child pornography online via a peer-to-peer file sharing network.

Bryant was arrested in December after Lafayette police traced two suspect files to an IP address registered at his home in the 4100 block of Lofton Drive.

His defense attorney, Thomas O’Brien, said Bryant accepted responsibility for his actions by agreeing to the terms of a plea deal, which resulted in two additional felony charges being dismissed.

Deputy Prosecutor Emily Orsinger, on the other hand, disagreed. She pointed to Bryant’s statements relayed in court documents, arguing that Bryant exhibited sorrow for getting caught, not remorse for the crime committed.

Tippecanoe Superior Court 1 Judge Randy Williams said he, too, highlighted statements made by Bryant in a pre-sentence investigation report. He read some of Bryant’s words during Monday’s hearing.

“ ‘I feel bad for what has happened to me,’ ” Williams read with a baffled tone before describing the graphic nature of the pornographic material in Bryant’s possession.

It depicted an adult male violating a child, bound at the ankles, believed to be just 3 or 4 years old.

“There are victims to these crimes,” Williams said.

The aggravating factors he identified included the fact that Bryant’s victim was younger than 12 years old.

Mitigating factors he noted include the fact that Bryant pleaded guilty, has support from family members and is pursuing additional education.

Bryant was ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years and participate in a treatment program for adult sex offenders.